July 2019 | Page 5 of 8

Windstorm, Heavy rains wreaked havoc in parts of north Kashmir

July 16, 2019July 16, 2019 Editor

Windstorm followed by heavy rains and hailstorm wreaked havoc in parts of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Monday by damaging trees and residential houses. The storm caused extensive damage to standing crops and apple orchards mostly in Zaingeer belt including Mundji, Hardishiva, Takiya khan, Duroo, Warpora, Janwara and other villages. Reports quoting locals said that heavy rain, strong winds and hailstorm lasted for half an hour. It uprooted dozes of apple and willow trees and damaged rooftops of several residential houses. The area has witnessed adverse weather several…

Modi govt will never misuse NIA law: Amit Shah

July 16, 2019July 16, 2019 Editor

Refuting opposition’s claims of “misuse” of the NIA law, Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday asserted that the Modi government will never abuse it to target anyone but will ensure that terrorism is finished off irrespective of the religion of the accused. In an intervention during a discussion in Lok Sabha on the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019, Shah also targeted the Congress-led UPA government for repealing the anti-terror act POTA, saying it was not done because of its alleged misuse but to “save its vote bank”. He said…

Boycott political parties favoring abrogation of Articles 370, 35A: Shah Faisal

July 15, 2019July 15, 2019 Editor

President of Jammu and Kashmir’s Peoples Movement Shah Faesal on Sunday said that people should “socially boycott” the political parties that favor abrogation Articles 370 and 35-A. Shah Faesal while addressing a public outreach program organised by People’s United Front (PUF) here in north Kashmir said, “Jammu and Kashmir has an existential threat at this time as special status of the state is under threat. People should stand up against the parties who are talking about scrapping the special status of the state. People should go for a social boycott…

Separate township for Kashmiri Pandits a necessity: Satya Pal Malik

July 15, 2019July 15, 2019 Editor

Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik has attacked Kashmiri political leaders, saying they had lost the faith of their own people, citing the low voting percentage in their constituencies in the recent Lok Sabha elections. In an interview, Malik also downplayed the impact of traffic being blocked in the Valley to give way to buses carrying pilgrims to the Amarnath cave shrine. Edited excerpts: I want to start off by asking you about Article 35A (which gives special privileges to natives of J&K). Your office has not said anything in…

Three-point political charter for J&K: Omar Abdullah

July 15, 2019July 15, 2019 Editor

Recently, the newly appointed Union home minister, Amit Shah, made his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). It garnered a lot of attention, with the people of the state and keen Kashmir-watchers eager for clues that would indicate how the new incumbent would handle the state compared to his immediate predecessor. I will resist the urge to dissect the visit because that has already been done many times over, and I doubt I will add any fresh insight into what is already in the public domain. I will, however,…

‘Secured Camps’ in Kashmir to resettle Pandits: Ram Madhav

July 13, 2019July 13, 2019 Editor

The Bharatiya Janata Party will revive a plan to build secured camps to resettle scores of Hindus in the Kashmir Valley, senior leader Ram Madhav said, a proposal that would almost certainly heighten tensions in the restive region. Madhav, who is the BJP national general secretary responsible for Kashmir, said his party was committed to helping bring back some of the estimated 200,000-300,000 Hindus who fled the Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of an armed revolt that began in 1989. “Their fundamental rights of returning to the valley have…

Kashmir Celebrates, Jammu Mourns India’s World Cup Defeat

July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 Editor

Soon after India lost their semi-final match to New Zealand, residents of Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley could not hide their pleasure and took to streets to celebrate the defeat. At the same time, the residents of Jammu city which is the twin capital of Jammu and Kashmir along with Srinagar were mourning the Indian loss. The Indian team who were widely seen as one of the favourites to lift the trophy were bundled out for 221 at Old Trafford with Matt Henry’s bowling spell wreaking havoc on their batting…

Sopore fruit growers, traders protest against highway restrictions

July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 Editor

Traders, civil society members and fruit growers on Friday held a protest at Sopore fruit mandi to demand revocation of order restricting the movement of vehicles on Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The protesters were holding placards and banners carrying messages like ‘we love yatris’, ‘lift the ban on highway’ and ‘save fruit industry of valley’. A trader said that vegetables, fruits and some varieties of apples which ripe early were perishing on the highway as trucks remain halted due to the restrictions. The protesters said that they wholeheartedly welcome the yatris…

Climate change will not spare anyone

July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 Editor

Climate change is a major global issue today. Every country is realizing it and is setting goals to find solutions which can help mitigate its impacts. Level of greenhouse gases has gone up and down over the history of Earth, but they had stayed constant for the past few thousand years. Global average temperature has also stayed constant over that time until the past 150 years. Due to the industrial revolution and discovery of fossil fuels the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has gone up considerably. These greenhouse…

Kashmir internationally recognized dispute between India and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue: Farooq Abdullah

July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 Editor

National Conference (NC) president and former chief minister, Farooq Abdullah, Thursday said Kashmir is internationally recognized dispute between India and Pakistan which needs to be resolved through dialogue. Talking to reporters after paying tribute to his mother Begum Akbar Abdullah on her 19th death anniversary, Abdullah said nothing can be achieved through “military might” as there is no alternative to dialogue to address the Kashmir issue. “Nothing will be achieved either by displaying military might or by using NIA as a pressure tactics. Kashmir issue is a reality between two…